We've got all the time
by spinlight
Summary: Things transpire, relationships shift when the gang is stuck inside the apartment building for the span of a three day storm. Seddie.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't nor have I ever claimed to own iCarly.

**Summary: **We've got all the time {that we need}. Things transpire, relationships shift when the gang is stuck inside the apartment building for the span of a three day storm. Seddie.

//

**Prologue - The Night Before.**

_Thursday, September 13__th__. _

In Seattle, the air was stale and thick with warmth; that damp scent only found lingering around before a storm. It kept wafting back and forth along with each gust of wind, it's intentions unknown. The sky was a fusion of numerous grays, the only break in the scheme was certain clouds merging together to cause black spots. It was barely now heading into the evening portion of the day but not a trace of light had managed to break through to become evident while Freddie sat on the hood of his car in the apartment complex's parking lot. An apple was held inattentively in his left hand which rested in his lap, notebook forgotten at his side in similar fashion while he kept his eyes watching the gloomy canvas overhead. It looked like he was searching for something but searching wasn't the right word - he was just trying to take everything in.

Couldn't remember the last time the city seemed so sinister.

School had gotten out for the day probably an hour and some change ago. The girls had made plans to go to the mall that morning and while later on they invited him to tag along, it was more a formality; an empty gesture and Freddie took it as such with out an ounce of hard feelings. Just because he had girls for best friends didn't mean he wanted to go shopping and things of that nature, they knew that. So the last bell rang and they went their separate ways. The girls to the local mall and him to, well here for lack of having anywhere better to be. He could have gone inside awhile ago but his mom was on this whole _'early admission to college essays' _obsession and today he just felt like he didn't have the patience for a two hour lecture about what makes for a good introduction.

So he stayed out here, used the time to fill out a journal entry for his English Composition class and then made a list of stuff he'd pick up at the drug store tomorrow. The thought to just go now did enter his head but with the way the weather looked and how comfortable he had grown lounging against the windshield, right now wasn't an option worth exploring. His free hand lifted into the air and came to rest behind his head as means to prop his view forwards. Watching a girl and her mother who lived on the third floor if he remembered correctly pull open the building's main door, he finally brought the unblemished fruit he had been holding for a good fifteen minutes now to his lips and took a considerable bite out of it. As he was wiping at the excess juice dipping from one corner of his mouth, that's when Spencer had pulled into the parking space next to him.

Freddie watched the older brunette male, who had been the best male role model (and subsequently his only one) a kid could ask for, get out of his car. Spencer struggled for a moment, holding two large bags filled with God only knows what while his keys were held securely between his teeth. He used his foot to kick the driver's side door closed behind him before taking a few steps over to where Freddie currently rested and greeting him.

"Fay Phredo." A sudden look of discontentment raged on Spencer's face for a second before he spit the keys he had been holding in his mouth into one of his bags and then looked back up and over to Freddie, assured this time his greeting would be intelligible. "Hey Freddo."

"Hey Spence." Freddie greeted back before taking another bite from his apple.

"What are you doing out here? You taken the time to actually look up? Sky is going to open up and unleash a flood." He paused, eyes widening noticeably. "We could be washed away in a torrential downpour at any second."

Freddie didn't seem that phased by the revelation, swallowing what he had been chewing before answering back. "I'll take my chances braving a possible deluge of water than going home right now."

"Mom still on that early admissions kick?"

"She's boughten me a sweatshirt from every college she wants me to apply for. I have like thirty sweatshirts I'm never ever going to wear stuffed in my closet right now. I wish she'd just back off, it's only the beginning of my senior year." He ended with a huff, letting the hand holding the apple fall back to his lap again, not so hungry anymore after his little rant.

Spencer's look was sympathetic but his words were plain unhelpful. "Yeah, well if she hasn't balanced out by now, I'm not sure she's ever going to, little buddy."

"Gee, thanks. That's the reassurance I was looking for." Freddie words were laced in blatant sarcasm.

"Oh right, sorry. Guess that was a pretty unconstructive thing to say."

Freddie waved off the apology. "It's cool, Spence."

Spencer nodded, visibly relieved while shifting some of his weight back and forth to contend with the heavy bags he continued to hold. When neither said anything for a short long moment, Spencer broke the quiet with something he just thought of. "Hey, where's Sam and my kid sister?"

"The mall. Carly wanted to get a new outfit for some reason, I don't know, didn't ask that much into it. I know she bribed Sam into going if they went to the food court before and after. " Freddie shrugged casually, pushing off against the glass, swinging his legs over the side into a sitting position. "I passed on the whole deal."

"New outfit shopping, you say? Yeah, I would have bailed too. I remember the last time I went clothes shopping with Carls, she was running around the store like crazy. She just refused to put back on her pants."

Freddie said nothing, just arched a brow in question. One Spencer didn't know the answer too until he went over his statement a few times and it finally hit him.

"Oh! She was four then. People look at you funny when you are chasing down a semi-naked kid so after that, I treated clothes shopping with Carly like I treated drugs. I just said no."

"Right." A warm chuckle emitted from Freddie's throat.

"Yeah."

It seemed like the weight of the bags was finally getting to the older male, and Freddie got to his feet reaching for the one in Spencer's left hand. "Here, let me grab that one from you."

Spencer was grateful, relinquishing said burden to Freddie. "Thanks, Freddo. As an reward for your good citizenship, you can hide out at the apartment and wait for the girls to get back."

"Well, that might be a good idea." Freddie looked up at the sky. "If my mom found out I was outside with the weather looking how it is, I'd be getting nine different flu shots before I even knew what was happening."

Spencer laughed a bit despite how deadly serious Freddie was being. He knew how rough the kid had it with having a mom like the one he did. It's why he didn't mind him hanging around the apartment all that much (which wasn't even half of the total time Sam spent sprawled out on the couch, eating all the food). The two began away from their vehicles and over to the front of the building. When they went inside, they were met with a cold rush of air that filled the lobby. They instantly lifted up the bags they were holding to shield their faces from Lewbert, who started wailing like a banshee that the floors had just been mopped and that he was sick and tired of people disrespecting his area. Apparently, the mother and daughter from before left a trail to the elevator that already had the harmless lunatic all riled up.

Standing in front of the elevator after Spencer had pushed the button, it was probably the longest thirty seconds both males had ever experienced in their lifetimes. They kept their eyes bolted like steel to the doors, waiting for them to part at anytime and provide safe haven from the screeching echoing through the room. Finally the doors did open and the two friends quickly rushed inside, spam pressing their floor number and the _'close door' _button at the same time. Two sighs of relief were expelled when the two sides came together and closed them off in the small confines, the elevator moving up the cable.

"Why hasn't he been fired yet? He's pretty much the worst… whatever he is, doorman? Doesn't matter, he's the worst whatever he is." Freddie set the bag down in front of him, looking over to Spencer.

"I dunno. Fear of retribution? I know I'd rather have him being all loony tunes down in the lobby than showing up specifically in my apartment."

Freddie shook his head. "Even still, how did he get hired? He has terrible people skills, you would have thought that might be a factor when they interviewed him."

"Hm, I don't think he was hired. I think one day he just showed up and took control over the lobby and no one has the guts to tell him to leave." Spencer paused, lowering the bag slightly to look at Freddie. "You know what? We're two brave guys, we have the guts. It's up to us to go back down there and tell Lewbert to hit the road."

The younger brunette seemed to contemplate it for a second. "Yeah, no."

"Oh good, I was just bluffing." Spencer quickly answered back in a thankful and rushed breath.

While they waited, a lull of some kind of 80s or 90s soft rock filled the air around them. It was the usual mundane and forgettable music you become accustomed to hearing inside an elevator. Though out the corner of Freddie's eye, he could have sworn Spencer was swaying a bit, maybe secretly trying to mouth the lyrics. Maybe it was a hidden gem from the older male's youth that he just didn't get. Freddie didn't have much time to think on it because they finally reached their floor and he bent over to pick up the bag at his feet. The bag filled with what looked like a few cans of paint and then some kind of seafood.

The two moved out into the hallway, down a bit and then around the corner to where two apartment doors Freddie knew all to well existed.

"So you went out to pick up art supplies and dinner?"

"Nope, only art supplies." Spencer answered without a beat, setting the bag down to look inside to retrieve his keys.

Standing there waiting, that's when it happened. A boisterous yell emitting from behind his apartment door, a deafening question thrown into the universe, Freddie's mom calling out his name. The panic that set in afterward was instant and horrific, causing the teenager to look back and forth from each door; eyes wide and voice strained. "Spence, hurry. She's coming!"

Spencer too was in a panic, searching for his keys as best he could. Mrs. Benson yelled out again, and for some reason the older male could have sworn the music from the Wizard of Oz, when the wicked witch was coming with her evil, evil monkeys had began to play around them. Getting louder and louder. Finally, thankfully, Spencer did find his keys and quickly jammed them into the lock, twisting and turning. When the door was pushed open, Freddie bolted inside as quickly as possible. Spencer soon followed in fashion, slamming the door to pleas of the brunette teen behind him.

"Lock the door! For the love of God, lock the door!"

* * *

When Mrs. Benson stopped banging on the door, Spencer went to get started on his latest creation and Freddie soon fell asleep on the comfy confines of the couch now all by himself. He was having a pretty good dream. One where he was getting paid all this money to test out new system software for the space program. And there were all these beautiful girls all around, cheering him on. Who knew how into software models were, right? He lived in that rich fantasy for probably about forty five minutes until in one swift motion, it was all taken away from him and he was forced back into reality. That one swift motion was Sam sitting down on top of him and turning on the tv.

Freddie was overly disorientated when he opened his eyes, calling out voice rasp with sleep. "Wha- hey… hey! Get off of me."

"Carly, when did your couch start talking?"

"It didn't, you're sitting on Freddie." Carly informed her best friend while standing in the kitchen, getting out a water from the fridge. Sam looked down to see Freddie staring at her with a scowl, which caused a corrupted sense of glee to creep into her generally surprised expression.

"Hey, what do you know. I am sitting on a dork." The blonde beauty shifted around for a moment, pushing Freddie deeper into the couch as she made no move to comply with his demands. "When did you get here, Fredward. Should tell your mom to stop dressing you in couch camo."

Freddie looked down at his shirt with a troubled look before lifting the gaze back to the blonde on top of him. "You said you liked it when I got it at the mall."

"Yeah, well I probably should have been more specific. I like it because it makes you look dumb."

"Get off of me. Now."

Sam just ignored him, pointing the tv remote at the screen and turning up the volume just incase he didn't know she was planning on ignoring him. This in turn caused Freddie's face to turn red slightly from the irritation and anger building up. He tried to get up, lifting his body but she just went with the motion and then slammed herself back down, taking him with her. After that he tried bucking her off sideways but that didn't work. Not only did that not work but now he was interrupting her program viewing so without taking her eyes off the screen, she grabbed onto one of the couch pillows and shoved it down over Freddie's face.

When Carly came back into the living room, she was met with the scene of Freddie's face covered and his arms flailing around, trying to get free. Sam looked as if nothing was going on, too interested in a boxing match on the television screen.. Carly stared at her best friend with a fixed look bordering on a glare, hands (one of them holding a water) coming to rest on her hips

"Sam, stop suffocating him."

"Stop suffocating who?" Sam played innocent, still not breaking her gaze from the tv.

"Sam."

"Carly."

"Sam." There was an edge to the brunette girl's voice that Sam instantly picked up on and with a groan of protest she finally lifted the pillow up to revel Freddie's now overly red face and drained expression; hair a bit excessively mused. He would have looked relieved if he could muster any strength for it. He was barely able to move himself out from under the blonde into a sitting position against the arm of the couch when she lifted her body and let him up. Carly moved to take a seat in the chair off to the side but her eyes had yet to leave her best friend and Sam could feel the gaze burning into the side of her face until the point she could no longer pay attention to the match and looked over at Carly.

"What?" When Carly didn't say anything, Sam continued. "I'm not apologizing or some crap. Benson knows I'm just playing around. Hell, he likes it when I do stuff like that, very into it. He's got weird kinks.."

"What? I do not like it or have kinks!"

"Relax, we know you're vanilla."

"Shut up." Now able to catch his breath, he managed to send the unruly blonde another scowl from over the top of the couch pillow he clutched to his chest.

"Carly, you hear him trying to start with me again? Better tell `em to quit being mouthy before I have to _make_ him." Her voice was nonchalant but there was never any doubt if she meant what she said or not.

"You're not as badass as you think, Puckett."

That got Sam's attention drawn away from Carly pretty quick, locking her bright blue eyes on him with seeming intent to pierce right through, to his soul. " Oh yeah? That right?"

The brunette girl off to the side sent him a pleading look and that, plus the want not to have bodily harm done to him was enough to make Freddie hold his tongue. Biting back on the words that wanted to spill out.

"No, you are as badass as you think, Sam." When she didn't make a move to return to normal, he added with a lifeless tone. "And I'm just a nub who doesn't know what I'm talking about."

Sam seemed to contemplate if it was enough and in the end it was. The blonde give Freddie a patronizing pinch on his cheek before focusing on the boxing match again. Carly looked thankful when he nodded, rubbing his cheek and let his eyes shift towards the television. She unscrewed the cap off her water bottle, taking another drink before starting up conversation, not at all interested what Sam was forcing them to watch.

"So, Freddie. Whatcha doing in my apartment?"

Freddie was about to answer but Spencer did so for him, coming around the corner with a freshly painted purple lobster. "Because I'm allowed to have friends over too, Carls. Gawd."

"I'm sorry, Spencer. Of course you can."

Carly's voice was lighthearted as she got up and followed her big brother into the kitchen where she found him looking through some pots and pans, still gripping his oddly colored crustacean in the air over his head. After a good twenty seconds or so, he finally found the one he wanted (noted with an exclamation of 'ah ha!') and straightened himself out, setting it down on the counter.

"It's okay, I forgive you."

Carly leaned against the counter, eyes moving back and forth between her brother and the object in his hand. "See you got a purple lobster there."

"Sure do."

"Any reason why?" Her brows arched up slightly.

"Sure is."

Faint frustration leaked into her confused expression. "You going to tell me?"

"Sure aren't."

Meanwhile, Sam and Freddie were still sitting on the couch. Her attention was solely focused on the two men trying to knock each other out while his drifted back and forth from the screen to her face. It was a game he often played called 'try to figure out why Sam reacts so positively to violence'. So far the one and only reason he had come up with was that she is simply a nut job. Freddie shrugged the thought off, leaning back against the couch.

"How was the mall?"

"Gross, Carly tried on like every article of clothing in three stores." Sam answered back, though by how transfixed she looked watching the screen, you wouldn't believe she was capable of carrying on a conversation.

"That sounds like tons of fun."

"Yeah." She paused, and then quickly looked over at him, excited by something she just remembered. "Oh! I did get us kicked out of the last store."

Freddie couldn't help but to laugh at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, how'd you manage to do that?"

"Kinda broke this bimbo's, who was giving Carly a hard time about using the dressing room too long, nose. She was all whining like a cat in heat outside the door so I just kicked the door open to get in her face but apparently _'her face' _was all up and close in the door's personal business when I kicked it and it slammed into her nose." Sam was nodding back and forth, real proud of the incident. "Should have seen the blood, Benson."

"You're lucky you didn't get charged with anything, Sam."

She just shook her head, looking back to the tv. "Naw, it was that chick's own fault for being annoying and trying to make out with the dressing room door."

Sam got back into the match and Freddie let her while he turned his body at an angle, resting his back in the corner where the end of the couch and the couch arm met. He let his right arm rest along the top of the piece of furniture before he finally tried to get interested in the two guys boxing. He only had to endure the programming for about three more minutes though because all of a sudden, it cut to two people at a news desk.

"Hey! What the hell, man! Come on!" Sam cried out resentfully, bouncing from one side of the couch to the other, into Freddie who pushed her off lightly. Both Shays entered the living room to see why Sam was freaking out and they were met with a reporter saying:

'_Good evening everyone. A rather large storm front as found it's way over Seattle and it's been predicted that it's going to be staying for awhile to give the city all of it's worse. Residents of Seattle have been advised to say inside until a time deemed safe enough to venture out. Please stay tuned every hour on the hour for update.'_

Before anyone could even say something in response to what they had just found out, very noisy banging started to occur on the apartment's door. Freddie was already groaning before the shrill voice of his mother hit the air. "Fredward Benson! Did you just see the news? You unlock this door right now and get your butt in the apartment. We need to start layering protective clothing and boarding up the windows!"

The four of them looked at one and other, then all to Freddie. Resigned, the brunette teen got to his feet and slowly scuffled over to the door. He turned back to his friends.

"Better go, see you guys later." He looked to the door and then back to his friends again while he gulped.

"Maybe."

//

**A/N: **Hey guys, back again and fairly soon I guess. I thought about just trying to write the whole story without posting anything but I know the next week or two might be pretty busy and I came to the conclusion that if I put something up, I might feel required to find some time everyday to continue to write and get the story done. (Kind of like my last one but no rush to redo it.)

I decided on a structure for the story. Think it's going to be made up of five sections total. A prologue being the night before. Chapters one, two and three being the days during the storm and then the epilogue being the morning after. I think doing it this way is probably going to cause for really long chapters so in the end who knows, I might fix things around into more shorter chapters. But anyways, here is the start of the story.

Let me know what ya` think, maybe. (Title is taken from a song called "I'd rather have" by Manchester Orchestra.)


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own iCarly.

**Summary: **We've got all the time {that we need}. Things transpire, relationships shift when the gang is stuck inside the apartment building for the span of a three day storm. Seddie.

//

**Chapter One - Day One.**

_Friday, September 14th__._

He stood under the dim light of the hallway, in the silence looking towards the Shay's apartment door.

Freddie had been up for an hour now. He had already been sitting up and staring off at the wall due to his internal clock by the time his alarm went off at six in the morning. His eyes were barely open, still drowsy with sleep while the harsh and repeated rings on his bed side table merged into the constant stream of heavy rain pouring down in sheets outside. That was a daily ritual for as long as he could remember. He'd get up way earlier than he needed to (despite not really being a morning person) just to be ready before his mom got up. He did this because all her over protective craziness took about an hour every morning to get though and there just wasn't enough time without making time to allow for it.

But today, after showering and getting dressed, he had gone into the kitchen to start making a bowl of cereal and he decided to turn on the radio to a local station. It was already in the middle of a news report, listing off all the schools in Seattle that were closed for the day. Which was pretty much all of them, his included. That had caused him to pause in the middle of what he was doing, letting the knowledge that he didn't have to go to school so he had gotten up this morning for no real reason sink in. After he had come to terms with the notion, that's when he made the decision to go over to Carly's and let them know there was no point in getting up.

So yeah, that's when he made the decision, but that wasn't when he left. No, he had to spend the next ten minutes convincing his mother that school was indeed cancelled for the day which ended in both of them standing around the radio until they listed all the schools yet again. And after that, he had to take another five to assure her that crossing the hallway to let his friends know about the news didn't require three jackets, a rain coat and an umbrella. She didn't let him leave until he put on at least one coat with a pair of gloves in the pocket.

Letting the memories drift away, he took a step forward and placed three light taps on the frame, hoping Spencer was at least up and he wouldn't have to bang down the door. Though, he could always call Carly's cellphone before it came to that. Speak of the devil, or think rather, it was Carly who opened the door a few seconds later in her matching pajama bottoms and tank top. She didn't look that surprised to see him, her actions reflecting his supposition when she smiled and walked back inside, leaving the door open for him to follow.

Freddie took the steps inside and closed the door behind him. He was all set to start a conversation but the sight of Sam's sleeping form on the couch caused the words to die off from his tongue. His pace was slow but more so quiet as he moved past her and over to the counter where Carly was sitting with a almost empty glass of orange juice.

His voice was low, just above a whisper. "There's no school today."

"Yeah, I know. Heard it on the radio when I got up a few minutes ago." She nodded before taking a sip from the glass.

"Oh, cool. Alright then." Trailing off, he didn't know why but some sort of gravitational pull was turning his head and making him look over to where Sam lay. She was deadly still, covers pushed down to her waist with one leg hanging off the edge of the couch. She was still in the clothes she wore last night, jeans and some penny tee that was riding up her sto-

"There a reason you're staring at Sam?"

"Huh… wha-what?" He had been caught even though he hadn't set out to stare over at his friend. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he pulled a cover from out of thin air. Voice laid-back, sort of channeling Sam in that instance. "I was just pitying you when you have to wake her up to tell her. I know how she is in the mornings, I've faced that wrath."

"Ah. Yeah, I'm totally not going to wake her up. Figure I'd just let her sleep and when she wakes up and finds all of us still here, she'll put the pieces together or whatever."

"Smart move." He nodded, eyes now moving between his brunette friend and some far off spot in the corner of the kitchen.

"You look tired." Carly mused.

"Do I?"

"Yeah. There a reason you are like dressed up, jacket and all?"

He met her gaze. "Been up for a while now. Would have been cool if I thought to turn on the radio right when I got up but that wasn't the case. I was dressed and ready to walk out the door by the time I heard the news."

"Gotcha."

Her turn to nod while she stood up, moving around the counter to the sink to set her glass down. When she came back over, she nudged an elbow in his side softly while passing by. "You should go get some more sleep, that's what I'm about to go do."

"That's the plan." He paused. "You mind if I come back and hang out in a few hours."

She only grinned, moving up the stairs while calling back down, voice hush but still loud enough to hear.

"You've stopped having to ask years ago, Freddie. I'll see you later."

Carly disappeared upstairs and now that left him alone in the living room. Well, not alone entirely. He turned around to look over at the blonde and without consent from his brain, he started to move over towards the couch, his steps calculated and slow. When he finally came to a stop, Freddie was standing near the end where her head rested, entranced at how serene she looked. Sleep was probably the only time Sam let her guard down completely (not by choice) and every time he came to witness it, it just affected him in the weirdest way. Always a sensation he couldn't name or place filling him up and it just… just weirded him the hell out.

So he watched her for a little bit, losing track of time. He couldn't pin point when Sam had gotten beautiful, like Carly beautiful but it happened. Maybe it was just disguised under all the rage issues. Hard to see how a girl looks when the girl has your face rammed against the wall. The fact he wasn't mega off-put about coming to the conclusion that Sam was beautiful was a little weird too. But he figured it was no big deal really. So he had really attractive best friends, that was life. It wasn't up to him.

It was probably a few minutes but it felt like only a second or two before all of a sudden the blonde's eyes fluttered open slowly. When it registered to her that Freddie was indeed standing there looking at her, she was a little more awake than she would normally be at that point. Her breathing was measured and her tone emotionless when she broke the silence since apparently he wasn't going to.

"Any reason you're standing there starin` at me, creeper?"

Freddie had pretty much frozen up when she opened her eyes, not moving; waiting with bated breath at what punishment would be his fate. When she spoke, he was caught off-guard, clearly expecting her initial reaction to be to cause violent harm to him. But she just asked him a question and waited for an answer. Not quite sure how to play this out, he decided he would try to joke himself out of the odd and possibly life threatening situation he had gotten himself into.

"Was just wondering if you were a clone, or some peaceful looking pod person that had stolen your face and clothes."

Sam just looked at him for a hard moment before shrugging, closing her eyes and starting to stretch out along the length of the couch. "It's too early for your sci-fi crap, Benson." She paused, letting out a tattered yawn. "Actually, what time is it?"

"Seven. They've been saying on the radio that schools been cancelled for the day because of the storm. I came over to tell you guys."

"Really?"

He nodded but then quickly answered vocally when he realized her eyes were closed and his nod was for naught. "Yeah, it's pretty bad out. Been raining all night, pretty sure there is flooding."

"Cool. About the cancelled school bit, not the flooding. I don't actually care if it's flooding or not."

When he said nothing in response, she had to crack an eye open to see if he was still around. Which he was, looking down at her with his dumb brown eyes and dumb Freddie face. There was something about his stare that made her feel largely uncomfortable, something stewing in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like feeling strange feelings and she sure as hell didn't like the dork causing them.

"There anything else you have to tell me or you gonna get out so a girl can get back to sleep in the privacy of someone else's living room?"

That seemed to lift the haze he found himself in and he just nodded, before moving towards the door to leave.

"Yeah, I'm going to uh, go back to sleep too. See you later."

"Freddie."

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

"I catch you watching me sleep again and I'mma break your arms off and give `em to Spencer to make art with. Got me?"

Freddie blinked a few times before turning around and opening the door. "Understood."

* * *

Hours later, when the three of them were hanging around the studio essentially being lazy in the day off, Freddie had gotten over the whole bizarre feeling thing that had been messing with his head early in the morning. He rationalized it to not being fully awake and was fully content to believe that until the end of days. He was currently sitting at his set up, on his laptop searching his favorite tech forum for the new camera releases while Carly and Sam sat in the bean bags, talking about some new guy Carly had a crush on. (The reason for her new outfit.)

"Oh! And he has really nice eyes." Carly gushed, one side of her face resting against the material of the bean bag while she looked over to Sam.

"You been starin` at this kid's eyes?"

Carly furrowed her brows. "Not staring. I've just happened to notice them."

"Like you've noticed everything else about him. How his hair sways to the left, the way he smiles, his _'oh so cool'_ fashion sense."

"Leave me alone." Carly huffed.

That just caused Sam to laugh, not harshly, at her best friend. When no one said anything, the room was filled with the sound of rain drumming on the roof and all around outside. It was still going at full force and didn't have any plans on stopping for a while according to the news. The blonde's gaze found it's way over to Freddie who looked focused on whatever dorky activity he was doing on the other side of that laptop's screen. She watched him for a second lips tensing before calling out.

"Hey, Fredhead."

Freddie looked over to the girl from the side of his computer. "Yeah?"

"What's your opinion of the kid?"

"What kid?" He asked with confusion.

"The new kid Carly has this raging hard on for."

At this point, Carly called out with indignation. "Sam!"

"A crush on, whatever." Sam waved it off, waiting on Freddie's thoughts on the subject.

Freddie just shrugged, going back to whatever he had been doing before, voice distracted. "Uh, he's cool? I don't know."

"You think he's cool?"

"I don't actually know him so maybe. Hard to talk about a person when you don't know them."

"You know Carly likes him." Sam prodded, not getting the usual reaction she expected.

"Yeah? It's all she talks about."

Carly rolled her eyes and made a noise to let her two best friends know she was still in the room while they talked about her. The noise was ignored.

"And that doesn't make you freak out? Get all up in arms and challenge the kid to a duel for her honor?"

Freddie's voice, uninterested came while he was spam clicking something on screen. "Nope."

Sam was left sitting there wondering when Freddie grew a set and got over Carly. She watched him suspiciously or the top of his head anyway. "What happened to the undying love for Carly? I know the stalker is still somewhere inside."

That got a slight laugh to emit from the brunette male who in turn stood up a bit, looking over the top of the laptop to Carly who was watching with interest.

"Carls, wanna get married?" He asked.

"Not right now, but thanks for asking."

He snapped his fingers in mock disappointment and Carly giggled while Sam just watched with an indecipherable look. She clearly had not been paying attention when this change occurred because she was caught off guard by it fully.

"Guess I put the undying love on a shelf with my childhood memories and about a thousand tubes of ointment." He tossed out in humor when he sat back down and continued on searching the internet.

Sam watched him for a moment longer before turning back to Carly and starting up a conversation. It stayed like that for awhile. The two girls talking and him on the computer. Although Freddie was having a hard time concentrating on what he was reading because all of Sam's questions and looks kept running through his head. He really wanted to know what was up with her tiny inquisition that had just transpired. Maybe she was just upset she didn't get a chance to tell him that Carly would never love him. It was probably the most rational theory.

Out of nowhere, the lights flickered and then went off completely, along with everything else in the room. Freddie stood up and looked over to the girls, slightly upset that he didn't get to turn his computer off the correct way. Before he could say anything though:

"Carly!" Spencer's yell was heard from down stairs.

Carly got out of her seat and moved to the door, opening it and calling out. "Yeah?"

"The powers out!"

"We know. Was it you or the storm?"

There was a very long pause before Spencer finally called back out in uncertainty.

"I don't know!"

Carly just shook her head, turning to her friends. "I'll be back."

And then she left and it was only Sam and Freddie in the room, outlined in the mute light streaming in from the windows. Freddie's pace was sluggish, moving from his set up over to the now newly free bean bag chair, taking a seat. Sam had the back of her head resting against the chair, curly blonde locks scattered every where while she watched the ceiling. When she didn't say anything and the silence got too much for him, he went for broke.

"So… what's up?"

"Chillin` in the dark with a dork." She answered back.

"Word."

That got her to shift her head to the side, looking at him with her mouth scrunched to one side. "Yeah, don't ever say _'word.'_"

"Why not?"

"Uh, because you're white, Benson."

He looked at her with a strange look, as if she had grown another head. "Yeah and you just said _'Chillin.'_"

"So what?" She retorted back, unimpressed.

"So you're white too."

She scoffed. "Yeah barely."

That got a laugh out of him and she grinned in response, letting her vision return to the ceiling. Freddie mimicked her movements and stared up at the white plaster above them too. They listened to the sound of the rain outside, sitting in the dark and it was very relaxing. It was actually starting to lull him into a state of sleep that he had to fight off with a small shake of his head. He suppressed a yawn and turned his eyes back onto the blonde girl next to him.

"How long you think the power is going to be out?"

She shrugged. "Dunno, depends if it was the storm or Spencer. If it's the storm, then probably until it's over and they can fix whatever crap is broken."

He nodded in agreement. "True."

Sam seemed to be fighting with something internally and after a few moments, she turned her head to meet his gaze. Her face was blank, void of emotion just like her voice.

"So you're really over Carly?"

He looked at her in question. "Why?"

"Just surprised, you spent years obsessing over the chick and now you're just done?"

"I was not obsessing, I was thoroughly in like." He said with a scowl.

"Oh yeah? Then a lot of guys are in prison right now for being thoroughly in like."

Freddie rolled his eyes before letting them shift back to the ceiling again. She was really making this a point of interest for the day. It's not like it's something he really wanted to talk about. Carly was the girl he spent most of his youth chasing and it never really went anywhere. At some point, it just felt like a lost cause. He couldn't make her love him back and it wasn't really her fault that she just didn't feel that way. So one day, he swallowed his pride and emotions and did his best to move on. When things don't work out, you just have to move on and hope for the best.

"So?" She asked again, still watching him.

"I don't know, you were right in the end. Guess I figured if I had a chance, would have happened by now."

That's when Carly opened the door and took a step inside, looking over at the two and then Freddie specifically.

"Freddie, your moms at the door holding candles and wearing one of those coal miner's helmets with the flashlight on the front."

* * *

"Freddie Benson, you do not swallow that fast. How many times do we have to go over that you need to chew for_ at least _ten seconds?"

Freddie closed his eyes, squeezing them together tightly for a second before opening them again. Going from black to black. They were all sitting around Spencer's kitchen table eating sandwiches in the dark, only a faint orange glow from a burning candle lighting the room. It was him and his mom, Carly, Sam and Spencer. He had somehow convinced his mom that there were safety in numbers and he should be allowed to hang out over at Carly's during the storm. She agreed only on the terms that she was also there to watch out for him and to make sure Spencer didn't burn the apartment building down with candles. Which really, was plausible and fair.

"Yeah, Fredward. Chew for that full ten seconds. Don't want you to choke because no one here wants to give your lameass the heimlich maneuver." Sam chimed in.

"Excuse me, Samantha. Keep that kind of language from the dinner table and my son's ears."

"What kind of language? Lameass? Crap like that?"

It was too dark to really see the fine details but Carly was sure Mrs. Benson had a scowl on her face similar to the one Freddie usually wore.

"Yes, Samantha. Language like that."

"My name is Sam, not Samantha." She informed with annoyance before taking another large bite from her sandwich.

"Your full name is Samantha."

Freddie swallowed what he had been chewing, for a full ten seconds. "Mom, leave her alone."

"Shut up, Benson. I don't need your help arguing with your crazy mom."

"She's not crazy." He disagreed without conviction, more out of habit.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going to the bathroom. Don't touch my food."

And with that, the blonde in a sea of brunettes got to her feet and moved away from the table, through the living room and disappeared in the hallway. Freddie just shook his head, setting down his sandwich on the plate in front of him right before his mom started in on Sam.

"I don't see how you can sleep at night letting that girl stay over here all the time, around my son or your sister." The comment was directed to Spencer who didn't have time to answer and probably wouldn't have anyway. Quickly after that, she looked over to Freddie. "Really, Freddie. Why are you still friends with that girl, all she does is leave bruises all over my baby!"

"I'm not your baby or a little kid anymore, mom."

She gasped. "Of course you are. You'll always be my little baby."

Freddie tuned out the sounds of Spencer and Carly trying to swallow down their laughs.

"She's my friend, that's never going to change, okay?"

Mrs. Benson shook her head vehemently. "But it doesn't have to be like th-"

Freddie interrupted her, voice turned up a notch when he turned to her and accidentally knocked over his glass of water to the floor, causing a puddle (luckily Spencer was a fan of plastic cups.) "Yes, it does, mom!"

Mrs. Benson looked shocked. "Freddie!"

He didn't respond, he instead looked over to just as shocked Carly and Spencer, sighing while he got up.

"I'm going to go get a towel from the hall closet."

Freddie moved through the living room, away from a table full of eyes following him. The hallway was darker than the rest of the apartment, no place for candles to be lit and set down. His steps were cautious, slowly inching towards where the closet should be. He wasn't sure why he got so upset with his mom back there. This rant of hers wasn't anything new. She had been harping on Sam for years now, always telling him that he should find another friend like Carly if he insisted on hanging out with girls all the time. He couldn't explain what was so different about tonight, why there was an edge he was so easily pushed over. Shrugging his shoulders, in the next step he found himself colliding into something- someone and both of them falling to the floor in a heap, him landing ontop.

"Hey, what the hell!" When she got no response, she felt around until she felt short hair which numbered the suspects down to just one person. "Benson, get the hell off of me and watch where you're going, you nub."

He quickly got to his feet, offering her a hand which she ignored. He dusted off his pants for something to do, looking to the ground. He could feel her staring at him through the dark.

"Uh, why don't you watch where you're going?"

"Because I don't have to is why." She paused. "Why are you even over here and not on the leash next to your mom."

"Because I spilled my water and I'm getting a towel."

"Tsk, tsk. Clumsy, Fredward." Her tone was condescending and it bothered him to no end, considering he had just stuck up for her to his mom.

"Shut up, Sam." He moved around her to where the closet was and opened the door, grabbing out a towel.

"There is that mouth running off again, it's been doing that a lot lately. Better watch it before I go back and tell your mom you just tried to feel me up."

Freddie just sighed, tired of playing a game he was never going to win. He looked from the cloth in his hands to the girl in front of him. "Whatever, Sam."

The defeat in his voice was plain and evident, as clear as day. He usually put up more of a fight than that and it was off-putting. Sam wasn't sure why but she decided to go easy on the kid, at least for now. She moved to his side and put an arm over his shoulders.

"Come on, Benson. It was a joke. You know your mom would never believe you're into girls."

Her voice was light, with no malice in it. She gave him a little squeeze and it for some unknown reason, actually made him feel a bit better.

"I am to into girls."

She laughed, removing her arm and nodding back towards the living room. "Come on, Mama is hungry."

He stood there for a second, watching her walk away, thoughts jumbled. In the end, he let them fade away into wherever thoughts go and he followed her back to the kitchen table. Spencer and Carly were talking nonsense back to one and other and Mrs. Benson was quietly eating. When Freddie sat down, he whispered an apology to his mom who accepted it with a smile and a nod. Things pretty much went back the norm after that. Sam devoured the rest of her sandwich in record time and in a minute or so later, had her hands on the rest of Freddie's who gave it up with sigh and a hidden grin. She tore off a piece to give him, and even though it was probably the littlest piece ever made, he still thanked her.

Carly watched the two with curiosity, a soft smile coming to touch her lips upwards. When Sam noticed her best friend, she gave the brunette a weird look, brows arched in question.

"What's with the look, Shay?"

//

**A/N: **I did end up going for shorter chapters. Thanks to anyone reading.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I own this disclaimer claiming that I don't own iCarly.

**Summary: **We've got all the time {that we need}. Things transpire, relationships shift when the gang is stuck inside the apartment building for the span of a three day storm. Seddie.

//

**Chapter Two - Day Two.**

_Saturday, September 15th__._

Freddie sat on the floor with his legs out, in the hallway between the Shay's and his apartment. His back was against the wall, a window to his right. He had been looking out said window for twenty minutes now, watching the same scene continue on. An exact pattern of rain drops colliding into glass in loud but measured thumps. It had pretty much been this dull all morning. Carly reading, Spencer working, Sam sleeping and his mother cleaning. None of the activities were something he could really join in on (the last one he didn't want to at all) so he had been wandering around restlessly. He wasn't sure what made him come out here and take at seat but after not finding anything worth doing, that's what he did.

He was thinking about last night. How the whole gang (including his mom) just sat around the living room and talked about random stuff. They told stories and jokes, stated random facts and tried to see who could gross the other's out the best. Sam (she bit Freddie on the forehead, the teeth marks only now have started to fade) won but Spencer was a close second with a account of his last hunting trip. Somewhere in the midnight to one AM time frame was when Carly and Sam nodded off, sleeping against one and other. The rest of them just watched the two girls. Spencer made a comment about how cute they looked to which Freddie agreed with a nod. Even his mom had to admit that Sam was kind of cute when she wasn't awake and slinging slurs and violence.

Looking out the window, he didn't even notice Sam walking up gripping a tennis ball in her right hand. She stood a few feet away, watching the brunette male seemingly space off for a good amount of time. This wasn't the first time she had caught him like this. Freddie had started to daydream way too much for his own good. A light grin tugged at her lips. She lifted her arm and flung the tennis ball at the section of wall right above the window, causing Freddie to spaz out a bit when something went over his head. A look of disdain graced his face when he turned to see Sam with her usual smirk while she bent over to retrieve the green ball rolling back her way.

"You're too easy, dude. What's up?" She said while moving across from him and taking a seat on the opposite wall, positioned in a similar way.

"Nothing." He let out, getting his guard back up.

"Seems as much." She nodded. "Any reason you picked the hallway to chill out in? I mean, it looks like you're going for that deep, mysterious loner look but I gotta tell you, it ain't you, Benson."

Freddie fixed the blonde with a stare. "No?"

"Naw, you need two things for that persona. Years of psychological abuse and a leather jacket. You got the first one in spades but the polo shirt runs it. " She paused. "Well, the polo shirt and baby face."

"Wasn't aware you were a leading force on the subject. When did you get your masters in _'looks_'?" He deadpanned,

"Hey, just because a girl doesn't do well in school doesn't mean she can't be street smart."

"You could do well in school if you'd just try."

She groaned while looking out the window, everything about her tensing up in the slightest. This was Freddie's favorite thing to harp on and she just didn't get it. The kid should worry about his own grades and whatever. She was handling things the way she wanted to handle them. "Save me the after school special speech, please."

"For real, I know you do really well on tests. I've seen papers! You just don't do the homework. Any of the homework. At all. That's always going to be a big part of the grade."

"Yeah, well don't hold your breath for things to change." She shrugged, looking back at him. "Or you know what, go for it. Turning purple might be a good look for you."

He shook his head but dropped the subject, watching the way she turned over the tennis ball in her hand. Sam was a really smart girl but probably the laziest person Freddie had ever met. Maybe laziest person in the whole world. If she would just do some of the work, she'd be passing no problem but she just refused and it frustrated the hell out of him, Carly too. Freddie shifted his eyes back to the window, not having anything interesting to say back to the blonde across from him that wasn't about grades and school. Lucky for him, Sam kept the conversation alive and breathing.

"Never did say why you were out here."

"Eh, it's nice out here. Carly has a huge stack of books she wants to start reading and Spencer is still free to work on his art. My mom is super cleaning the apartment." He laughed quietly, mostly to himself. "My room smells like it's drenched in bleach, because it is even though I told her that bleaching everything down when you can't open the windows to air it out is a bad idea."

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "That might actually explain a lot of your mom's mental problems, Benson."

"Yeah, yeah. How about you stop insulting my mom all the time." He rolled his eyes before turning them back onto Sam. "Seems like everyone has something to do but me. I'm like having technology withdraws, playing Tetris on my phone isn't enough and the battery is almost dead."

"That's pathetic." She informed him.

"I know. I kind of thought you'd be going a little stir crazy too, with no tv or anything."

"I don't need tv to be entertained. I'm cool with just a tennis ball and a dork sitting across from me." She leered at him with a standard daunting grin.

"Don't throw that ball at me."

She actually had the nerve to look insulted. "Did I say I was going to? Geez, don't be so quick to assume. You know what they say about assuming, it gets you pegged in the chest with a tennis ball."

"Sam, don't throw that ball at me." Freddie said very slowly.

The only two occupants of the hallway sat there, staring one and other down to see which would back off first. Slowly, Sam began to rise her arm up in the air, ball tightly gripped. Freddie's eyes narrowed, darting from her face to the ball, then back to her face again. Nothing happened for the next ten seconds. No one moved, breathed, made a sound. They were both just completely still while the rain continued to pour until all of a sudden, Sam made a quick motion to throw the ball and Freddie flinched back, lifting his arms to cover his face.

When there was no pain, he lowered them slowly, looking over at a smirking Sam, ball still held in hand.

"Two for flinching, Freddo."

Freddie watched her intently, tilting his head to the side. Sam returned the look but with more of a shield up, not sure what he was going to say or do but daring him on regardless. Frozen in this new yet reoccurring moment where they try to dissect one and other, neither ever coming out on the other side with an answer, they sat there until he pulled his lips in against one and other for a second before a small grin broke out on his face, causing him to look down and then back up at her.

"I'm never going to win am I?"

She just shook her head, her face lighting up in response. "Duh, thought I had drilled that in by now."

"Guy can dream, can't he?"

"Hey, whatever you got drifting around that weird brain of yours is chill with me as long as you don't let crazy ideas like thinking you are gonna one up me spill into reality. Know what I'm saying?"

He looked up, contemplating. "You are saying I have delusions of grandeur?"

"Yeah, probably."

When he smiled at her, her stomach turned over. It had been doing that more and more around him and it was seriously starting to bother her. It wasn't par for the course when dealing with Freddie and she wanted things to go back to normal quick because this weight in her stomach and burn in her cheek was going to stop, it had to stop. Sam pushed the thought down a proverbial flight of stairs, getting to her feet. She looked down to Freddie who was still staring at her.

"Come on, punk. Let's go tell Carly to cut out her reading crap so we can at least work on iCarly since we can't watch tv or anything."

* * *

In the end, after Sam stole a few books and threatened to give them to Spencer (where they could be set on fire at any point and time), Carly did cut the reading crap out and the three of them got to coming up with skits for the next show which would be twice as long considered the storm kept them offline for the last pod cast. And the whole time, as Freddie sat at Carly's desk with the two girls in the bean bag chairs, he couldn't help but keep looking over at Sam. For the last hour or so, she had been acting pretty strange yet familiar at the same time. She had made more remarks about his clothing and _'nerd interests' _as she liked to put it than she had made in the last five months or so.

It was really starting to distract him, not to mention reopen a lot of insecurities he had worked past for the most part. Even if Sam was just messing around, it was still jarring to hear that kind of stuff being thrown in your face again. Carly could tell something was up too, she kept looking over to Freddie every time Sam took a remark just past the friendly banter mark. Right after, the brunette would change the subject as best and fast as she could, usually to something random.

"We could have a like contest, pick like two or three fans and then use them in a movie spoof we do, maybe." Freddie considered,

Carly nodded. "That's a pretty good idea."

"Thanks."

"For a dork." Sam chimed in.

He just rolled his eyes and ignored her, turning his back to them to stare at the black screen of Carly's monitor, wishing he could surf the net right now. When he heard Sam sigh behind him, he still refused to turn around even when she spoke.

"The power needs to come back on, like soon. Mama needs a hot shower."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Carly agreed wholeheartedly.

Freddie felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. With ease, he pulled out the device and flipped it open to look at the text he just got, which happened to be from his mom downstairs. He shook his head lightly, the faintest chuckle escaping him and causing the blonde behind him to look over.

"I thought your phone was dying."

"It is. My mom is just texting me to see what we're doing." He informed them both.

"Your mom is such a freak, Benson."

Freddie gave her annoyed look. "I told you to stop insulting my mom like that, Sam. I know she's a little off but she's my mom so chill."

"Little off? She's more than a little off, dude. She's clinically insane, queen of the loonies."

"Sam, lay off please." Carly asked firmly.

"What? I'm not telling him anything he doesn't already know."

Freddie shifted in his seat, getting hot under the collar at the way Sam was acting. He understood that her and his mom didn't get along but like, it's his mom. The lady gave birth to him and the least his friend could do, if she was his friend, was give his mom some respect. Enough not to insult her to his face. How could he keep telling his mom to cut it out, defending Sam when the blonde couldn't show the same courtesy. He shifted some weight to his left leg, trying to keep himself in check.

"Just leave my mom alone."

"Why you guys making such a big deal about this?" Sam lounged back in the bean bag chair, watching her friends with a perplexed look. "Is anything I've said untrue? Is Benson's mom not a crazy wackjob who babies him too much? Correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not."

That's when Freddie had to leave. He wasn't going to stand here and listen to Sam berate his mom all day for fun and if he stuck around any longer, he might start saying some stuff he would regret. And you know what, it wasn't all about his mom. That was a big part but he was more than a little hurt at the way she could slip back into the role of tormentor so easily. Their friendship had moved to a comfortable state where physical violence still occurred but she never used her words for blood anymore. Her taunts were less personal and filled with malice but in the span of an hour, she was back to spreading around his issues (meaning his mother) around the studio space.

"Screw you, Sam."

It came out in a hard breath right before he went for the door and walked out, leaving the two girls to watch his exit. One with confusion and the other anxiety. Slowly Sam got to her feet, taking a step to the door but stopping when Carly got up to and grabbed her arm.

"Just give him some time to cool down, Sam."

Sam looked from the door to Carly, a battle obviously raging inside. "The nub is overreacting, if I just leave `em alone he is going to think he's right."

Carly looked a little worried but mostly unsure when Sam shook off her hand and started to the door again. The brunette called out with warning.

"Sam."

"I'm just gonna go over there and _fix_ things, okay. We can't prep for iCarly with him sulking off in his apartment. Someone has to be super annoying around here."

And with that Sam pulled open the door and walked out into the upstairs hallway. She was having a hard time figuring out what Freddie was getting all up in arms about. She hadn't said anything past her usual barbs trying to get back to their old routine which was more comfortable than this new one that they had going so for the dork to get all pissy and run away, well she felt it was pretty much uncalled for in her book. Sam shook her had dismissively at the thought as she came down the stairs and jumped the last step into the living room where Mrs. Benson was sitting on the couch staring at the door. Spencer was leaning against the kitchen counter and they both turned their attention onto her in the same instant. It was Mrs. Benson who exploded in concern.

"What's wrong with my Freddie? What did you do, young lady!"

Sam feigned insult. "Hey, why you gotta pin it on me? Maybe Carls hurt the wuss` feelings."

That caused Mrs. Benson to get to her feet, intending to rush over to her apartment and console her son but Sam stopped her with the click of her tongue, moving towards the front door herself.

"Sit down, lady. I'm going over there to _fix_ things, hold your horses. He'll be fine and back to normal in a few minutes." Sam rolled her eyes when she grabbed onto the door knob and gave it a turn, pulling it open and moving through while muttering. "If you'd just stop trying to hug out all his problems, the kid wouldn't be so much of a panzy."

When Sam pushed open the Benson's apartment door and strutted inside (surprised he didn't try and lock it, not that it would have kept her out at all), she found Freddie pacing back and forth on the side of the living room that led to the hallway. His gaze was on the ground. He looked extremely focused and more angry that she could remember him being in the last year or so. Thought he had finally learned how to take a joke, it seems apparently not. She put her hands on her hips, waiting for him to look over which might take forever or so while he fought with her in his head, not realizing she was actually in the room. Finally her impatience won out and she tossed out a question without tact to get his attention.

"Hey, you done bein` a crybaby yet or what?"

Freddie looked over to the blonde instantly, shocked she was in the room but then fuming again when he remembered her remarks and that she had the gull to ask him what she just did. He stopped pacing, turning towards her and steeling himself.

"Sam, get out of my apartment."

She stood her ground, not giving anything away. "How about you make me, Benson."

"I'm not playing whatever stupid game you got going, get out of my apartment."

"Let me think about it." She paused, a mock introspective look placed on her face before she shook her head. "Yeah, nah. I'm good where I am."

Freddie gritted his teeth and pushed out the words, trying to keep himself under control against Sam's façade of indifference. "I'm not messing around."

"What's your problem, Freddie." She huffed out exasperatedly, staring at him. "I hurt your feelings, boo hoo. It's not the first time. Just like, get over it and move on, alright."

"Get over it?"

He laughed bitterly, closing the space between them until they were inches away. He looked Sam right in the eyes and the emotion he sent her way caught the blonde off-guard. Everything about him right now was a brand new product of what she thought she wanted to get back to. Freddie lips were shaped in a thin line of resentment, the same sentiment lacing his words which spilled out without regard in a shaky and furious rhythm.

"How about I'm tired of having to get over every time you put me down and make me feel like shit. How about I don't feel like moving on anymore when you decide to crack on my mom, or the way I dress, or what I like to do for fun. I thought you had moved past all that but turns out, nope I was wrong." He almost smiled for a moment, one filled without joy or humor before it vanished and he continued on. "I'm so sick of your superiority complex and having to do things your way. I go out of my way to stay on your good side or help you and you can't even front the common decency to treat me like a human being."

"You done yet?" She said emotionlessly.

"See! You could give a shit right now! It doesn't matter what I say, who cares. Well you know what Sam? You're not the sun, the world and I don't revolve around you."

Sam took a step closer, getting deadly close. They stood there in the middle of the living room, face to face exchanging heated glares. "Like I care if your pathetic self and your pathetic reality revolves around me or not but I do suggest you stop running your mouth before I shut it for you."

"Do me a favor and drop dead, Puckett. I'm done giving a shit about you and what you think."

The harsh words came out smoothly, visibly affecting the blonde in front of him in tiniest of ways. The clench of her jaw and the slight widening then narrowing of her eyes. She didn't say anything back, just stood her ground while her eyes burned into him. The air in the apartment had a bit of electricity to it mixed with that faint smell of bleach. Out of nowhere, her fist lifted from her side and swung at Freddie who happened to be ready for it and blocked the hit with his forearm before using his free hand to hook behind her neck, dragging Sam over in that instant and crashing their lips together. He didn't know what came over him but the way she was looking at him and the fire turning over in the pit of his gut was just too much. He was so pissed at her but the surprising need to touch her; kiss her became too much for him to contend with.

It was pretty much a minute later when reality kicked in and he quickly pulled away, their faces barely an inch away from one and other. Her breathing was ragged and he could feel each hot breath against his lips when he managed to catch her gaze. Freddie was about to apologize (for the kiss, he wasn't wrong about everything else) but before he could get the words out, Sam had leaned back in and reclaimed his lips with a fevered aggression. Surprise faded away and they battled for control of the kiss, Freddie unexpectedly holding his own against Sam.

One of his hands found itself weaved into her blonde hair. This went on for about fifteen seconds longer than the first one but was quickly broke off again. Neither said anything in the aftermath, they just stared with this budding intensity wrapped around the scene. Until Sam turned around abruptly and stomped off towards the front door, opening it and exiting the apartment with a slamming force, making it sound as if the frame had cracked slightly from the pressure.

Freddie stood there taking in large and steady breaths, eyes locked onto the very spot where the blonde had just stood. Inside his head he was replaying what had happened over and over again at neck breaking speeds while the delicate pulse in his bruised lips from the force which Sam reestablished the kiss fought for attention as the focal point for his internal freakout. His shoulders slumped and his hands tightened to fists when he groaned out a question in frustration and dejection.

"Why does God hate me?" He looked up to the ceiling. "Really, man. What did I do?"

//

**A/N: **Thanks to Vix for convo and opinion. Hope everyone is still enjoying the story.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a lot of things, including iCarly.

**Summary: **We've got all the time {that we need}. Things transpire, relationships shift when the gang is stuck inside the apartment building for the span of a three day storm. Seddie.

//

**Chapter Three - Day Three.**

_Sunday, September 16th__._

_Well, I would rather have a broken arm than have my arms around you._

He didn't get much sleep last night. Every time he managed to fall asleep, his dreams would be invaded by images of Sam and then the two of them kissing and he'd wake up with a shock. That was a process repeated many times over until morning finally came. Freddie sat on the floor of his room, back against his bed and gaze staring ahead at the blue paint covering the wall. He had been sitting there for some time now, finally able to escape his mom and her mother/son surveys book. He claimed though he loved the surveys, he was pretty tired and was going to take a nap for a little bit.

He had kissed Sam.

Sam had kissed him.

They had kissed one and other right in the middle of a huge blow up and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out where this left them. Was their liplock the final coffin nail in their friendship or did it mean something different? And would that something different be good or bad? He just wanted answers but he doubted he would get them soon or at all. He was pretty lost in his own head so Freddie didn't notice Carly when she quietly pushed open his door and poked her head inside. She watched her best friend for a second or two, taking note of the defeat and gloominess of his posture and matching it to the same one Sam had back at her apartment. She gave a little cough before speaking.

"Hey, Freddie."

He immediately looked at her, surprise on his face. "Hey Carls. Uh, come in."

Carly made her way inside the room, closing the door behind her before moving to take a seat next to Freddie but on the bed. She crossed her legs at the ankle and looked down at her male best friend, giving him a small smile which he returned as best as he could.

"So, nice weather we're having huh."

That got a laugh out of Freddie who replied sarcastically but in a light tone. "Oh yeah, it's great."

He knew what Carly wanted to talk about but he wasn't going to be the one to bring it up so they sat there, neither saying anything, both listening to the pounding rain outside.

"She has been all stoic all day. What happened when Sam came over here, Freddie?"

Freddie shrugged, looking up at her. "Just the usual. Both of us trying to hurt one and other."

"Why?"

"I don't know, it's like our thing right?"

Carly shook her head. "I don't think it is."

"Have a feeling you might be wrong on this one, Carls."

"You guys are close." She paused, searching for the right words to vocalize what she was thinking. "I don't know why she started with the personal attacks yesterday but I'm sure it wasn't really about you. You know how Sam gets when something is bugging her."

"Doesn't give her the right to take it out on me."

"No, it doesn't. But she did and now you have to forgive her."

"Why is it always my job to forgive? Anyways, I don't think I can. It was bad this time." He looked down.

"What happened?"

Freddie seriously thought about telling her everything. Carly was his best friend, one of the only people he could tell anything to without a hint of embarrassment and without being judged but despite that fact and that he was fighting with Sam. Something in him still made him take the blonde's feelings into consideration and he wasn't sure if she wanted to be the one to tell Carly about their kiss, if she wanted anyone to know. She probably didn't, she probably wanted to pretend it never happened. Yeah, she probably would pretend it never happened. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"There was just a lot of really bad stuff said, on both parts."

"You guys can't fight forever."

He said nothing back and Carly sighed.

"Will you at least come over? Just because you guys are mad at one and other, doesn't mean you and I aren't still friends. Friends hang out at their friends apartments."

"That's true but you can just hang out here. It's the same thing." He said, looking up at her, daring her to break that logic.

"But." She tried to think of a good reason why he would come over to her apartment but when nothing else came, she just put on the puppy dog eyes. "Please, Freddie. Be my best friend and come over to the apartment. I'll make you a sandwich. We don't have anymore jelly but we do have lots of peanut butter."

He just laughed, looking at his friend and feeling thankful she was in his life. Sluggishly, he got up.

"Okay Shay, let's go."

* * *

_`Cause I would rather have a punctured lung than waste my breath on you._

The living room was quiet. Carly and Freddie sat on the couch while Sam was lounging half off the chair, looking at the ceiling. Freddie had come over about twenty minutes ago and this was the scene that transpired up until now. Very uncomfortable, tense and awkward. Carly looked at both her best friends, hoping someone (it'd probably have to be Freddie) would come to their senses and end the fight. So far that was pretty much a no go. The pretty brunette leaned back, tapping her hands against the jean material of her pants while speaking.

"So, this is fun."

"Yeah, totally." Freddie tossed out in sarcasm.

And back to silence. Carly had a feeling this was going to be a very long day and it was just getting longer by the second. She decided to go for small talk again, trying to kick start a dialogue of sorts.

"The radio said the storm might be over tonight."

Sam closed her eyes, limbs loose and hanging. "Good, I can't wait."

"Yeah."

When it went back to silence yet again, Carly let out a frustrated sigh and huffed. "Guys, you can't stay mad at each other forever."

Freddie looked over at Carly before pointing at the blonde in the chair. "Tell her to apologize."

"Eat it, Benson." Sam said without opening her eyes.

"Whatever."

"Whatever." She said back, mocking him.

This was going no where. They weren't going to fix this themselves so that left it up to her to repair the damage done here. The petite brunette spent the next two minutes or so brainstorming before she finally came up with a fully evolved plan, one sure to be foolproof. She quickly got out of her seat, looking to her friends.

"I'll be right back, gotta tell Spencer something. Uh, play nice."

And then she hurried off up the stairs leaving Sam and Freddie alone. Neither said anything, neither made a move to say anything. Neither made a move to think about making a move to say anything. They just sat there, Sam with her eyes closed and Freddie staring off into space, regretting that he agreed to come over here with her around. It was a mistake and he resolved to stop making mistakes.

Sam cracked an eye open and looked over to Freddie who had a sour look on his face. He looked over to her keeping the expression in tact before looking away again.

"Nerdface."

"Boorish house wench."

And back to silence. They stayed frozen in the scene until noise erupted from upstairs and Carly came bounding down them, trying to keep her face looking passive and normal. She stood on the bottom step, hand on the rail and eyes shifting between Sam and Freddie.

"So guys, let's go to the studio. I think I just thought of a really good skit for iCarly."

* * *

_Although my dear, I would rather have a broken heart than give up hope on you._

"Carly! Open the damn door right now!" Sam bellowed out, one hand pounding against the frame surrounding the studio door and the other jiggling the doorknob in an ample frenzy as she glared at her friend through the glass, who gazed back sternly while she stood behind the chair and locker trunk.

Sam and Freddie were currently trapped in the iCarly studio thanks to the emerging wicked genius of their mutual best friend. Neither were wise to her scheme as they all ascended the stairs, heading to the third floor. The brunette had everything she needed set up and waiting when they arrived in silence. Sam led, walking inside first. Carly was in the middle and followed the blonde but pushed her back against the door instead of taking a step inside with the excuse that she was holding it open for Freddie, who gave her a little nod in thanks and moved past her ignorant to what would happen next. Sam took a seat in the beanbag chair and Freddie moved to the desk, mirroring their spots from yesterday.

Carly was uncharacteristically fast when in seemingly one movement, she moved further back into the hallway and slammed the door shut. She then locked it, positioned a chair under the door handle and pushed a trunk against the chair to hold it in place. She was straightening back up when Sam and Freddie finally got to door, both needing a second after that to come to the same realization. Carly watched her best friends, not letting Sam's overly angry expression and Freddie's anxious and pleading one break her resolve to fix the divide in their inner circle.

"No!"

"Carly, please." It was Freddie's turn to try. He paused, looking from the girl next to him to the one on the other side of the barricade. "For the love of God, she's already almost foaming at the mouth!"

Sam turned to Freddie, punching him in the arm harshly. "Shut up, toolbag. No one asked you to say anything."

"Ow! I don't need your permission to say something, I can talk all I wa-"

"Hey!" Carly called out, getting their attention back. "You guys are going to stay in there until you forgive one and other and make up."

"That's not going to happen." The blonde informed her without a hint of doubt in her voice.

Carly just nodded feverishly, letting them in on the inspired brilliance of the strategy. "Oh yes it is. This plan has worked in many successful sitcoms, ya` know!"

"That's tv, this is the real world where all locking Freddie and I in a room together is going to get you is a geek beaten to death with the nearest object I can turn into a weapon. It's not going to work so let us out already."

"Well… "Carly trailed off for a second, fearing for Freddie's safety before another strong look of conviction ignited. "Well, make it work."

And with that, the brunette girl disappeared down the stairs and out of sight, leaving her two best friends standing next to one and other in silence. After forever, Freddie moved away and back over towards his seat at the desk, making plans to daydream he was off in a better place until Carly came back. Sam however had decided not to take this laying down. She quickly moved from the door over to the elevator, spam pressing the down button. When nothing happened, she began to violently beat on the doors. Freddie just watched her, cradling one side of his face in his hand, elbow prompted on the desk.

"No power, remember? Elevator isn't going to run on magic or something."

The blonde turned around deadly slow, giving him a look of death while she emphasized every word.

"Shut your face."

Freddie shrugged, not looking too threatened at all while Sam gave up on the elevator and moved back to the studio door. She was pretty sure she could pick the lock easy enough but Carly had planned for that and that's where the chair and locker came in. Sam was a pretty skinny girl but she had big doubts whether or not she'd be able to fit through whatever tiny space she could create with trying to shove the door open. In the end, with a defeated sigh, she moved over to the closest bean bag chair and dropped down into it.

He watched her the entire time, still angry with her but even more angry with himself when the thoughts at how beautiful she looked concentrating on a way to get out entered his head. Ever since their kiss, it was a mixed basket. Half the time he thought about how much she was being an unfair, spoiled brat and the other half he thought about what it would be like to kiss her again. It was making life all that much more complicated. Sam moved some hair from her face before looking over and catching Freddie staring at her.

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Nothing."

Sam rolled her eyes and looked away while Freddie just continued to stare. Trying to figure out what the girl's deal was. How she could keep switching back and forth between two people Why she chose now all of a sudden to start acting like a little kid again. It didn't make sense to him, not that anything about her ever did but this was pretty big. This was something he couldn't just shake off because it encompassed their whole relationship. He shifted in his seat before he just couldn't keep it all internalized anymore and let the question spill from his lips.

"Why can't you just apologize?"

She looked back over at him, indifference plaguing her face and voice. "I'm sorry you acted like a little girl yesterday and started all this crap."

"That's right, Sam. It's never your fault." He laughed cynically, standing up and taking a step or two over towards where she sat. "God forbid you take responsibility for your actions, right."

"You don't know anything, Benson."

He shrugged. "I know you think you are never in the wrong."

"What about you, smart guy? I recall you running your mouth." She faltered for a second, gaze dropping to his lips for an instant before shooting back up as if nothing happened. "just as much."

"Yeah, after you spent the last hour drilling me and making fun of my mom."

Sam dropped her head back against the bean bag material, trying to sound very bored. "Well, stop being a nerd and tell your mom to stop being a lunatic and I wouldn't have to."

"God, you're such a heartless bi-" He muttered the rest, turning around to move back to the desk.

"What was that?" She instantly lifted her head up and looked over to Freddie who had stopped mid-step but didn't answer. Sam got to her feet and closed the distance between the two of them, turning him around. "I asked you a question, Benson. I'm such a heartless what, huh?"

"Get off of me." He pushed out through gritted teeth.

"I asked you a question."

"You heard what I said."

She got in his face, using her intense blue eyes to pierce into his brown ones which were so clouded with emotion that they seemed black. "Well, I want to hear you say it again."

"You're a heartless-" Before he could even push his lips together to make the _'baa' _sound, Sam forced hers on them. The kiss had that same insanely powerful hostility and passion to it as the ones before. His arms came to wrap around her waist out of instinct and this time, it was her hands who found their way to his hair, musing it over while they continued to lock lips. Neither had a thought in their heads, both controlled by this unknown but fierce desire causing them to hold tight against one and other. They kissed for as long as they could before the need for air became an alarming issue and they broke apart in similar fashion from the day before. Inches apart, breathing tattered and wordless despite the chaotic influx of questions filling their heads.

Sam gave him a swift punch to the chest and then they broke apart completely, Freddie holding steady to where he stood, rubbing the sore spot while Sam took a few seconds away and then broke into pacing near the elevator. This was beginning to become a reoccurring theme between the two. Neither said anything for the longest time but in the end, it was Freddie who broke the quiet and put out into the world what they had both been thinking inside their heads.

"That's the third time we've kissed."

Sam grunted in response.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair. "What's going on with us, Sam. We never use to kiss during fights."

She stopped pacing and turned around quietly, fixing him with a hard stare.

"This is all your fault."

Freddie looked genuinely confused, standing there. "What? How?"

"You kissed me first yesterday."

"You kissed me back!" He retorted.

Her voice was inhumanly low but he still heard her anyway. "You made me feel all these stupid little feelings."

"Like what?" He asked but she didn't look like she was going to answer anytime soon. His pace was slow, moving only a step or two towards the blonde. Voice gentle enough to coax something out of her. "Like what, Sam."

"Like sometimes thinking you're cute when you look like a complete asshat. Like sometimes wanting to say thank you when you pay for my smoothie or movie ticket. The stupid, stupid warm feeling when you say something so dorky it's sweet." She paused, looking down while growling out. "Gah, this is all your fault. I want to punch you in the head right now."

"Is that why you were saying all that stuff yesterday?"

Her tone gave nothing away. "Maybe."

"You know, you give me stupid little feelings too." Freddie met her gaze and nodded in answer to the unasked question swimming somewhere in her eyes. "When you save me a seat in front of you in study hall even though I know you just want to use me for cover to sleep. When we're in the car and you play a song you know I like after everyone you want to hear. When you use me for a pillow every time we watch a movie downstairs because my _wimpy dork body _is conditioned just right for _comfortable movie viewing_."

Sam stood there, leaning all her weight onto one leg and casting a steely gaze over at the brunette male. She refused to look vulnerable or any such crap like that. But he was making it very hard on her with the way he was staring at her right now. Finally, a heavy sigh expelled past his lips and she let a bunch of words follow after.

"I tried to go back to how things were because it's easier to hit you and call you names than deal with the stupid little feelings."

"I kind of like them." Freddie answered honestly.

"Yeah, well. You're the only one."

There was humor in her voice, arching her brows for effort. At that point both just stood there, not knowing what to say next. They had fought again, kissed again and then aired out some tension and issues and now things were… awkward. Or some version of the word. Freddie shoved his hands into his pockets, looking earnest to match what he would say next.

"I'm sorry for all that stuff I said yesterday, Sam."

She waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. Me too."

Freddie tilted his head. "What does this all mean?"

She gave him a long look before rolling her shoulders, trying to disarm all the seriousness locked in the studio with them, floating around.

"We'll figure it out when we need to, no rush. We've got all the time that we need."

He nodded, accepting her statement on what was occurring because that's all he really could do.

"Guys? How are things going?" Carly said, appearing behind the studio door, looking in.

Sam and Freddie looked to brunette and then back to one and other. Sam waggled her eyebrows a bit and he looked back at her, confused for the moment until he picked up what she was implying. He grinned slightly but wiped it off his face quick before nodding. That was her cue and the blonde went for it, grabbing Freddie and putting him into a faux headlock. Her arm was tight but not nearly enough to cut off his airway but the brunette male struggled for effect, gripping at her arms trying to get released.

"Help… Carly… help." He choked out animatedly.

Carly's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she was quick to push away all the obstacles she set up, belittling herself for the plan now that she watched it backfire. Seconds later, she was unlocking the door and running inside to get at her two fighting friends.

"Sam, let go of him, he's going to pass out!"

Sam shook her head. "I can't do that, Carls. The dork went too far, now he has to die. Do me a favor and go tell his mom that her son isn't with us anymore."

"Sam!"

Freddie couldn't hold back anymore at that point and started laughing. Carly looked at him bewildered, not sure what was happening. When she looked back up she could see Sam was now grinning too. After that she put the pieces together pretty fast.

"You guys are so mean!"

//

**A/N: **Epilogue next. Thank you for all the nice reviews, you guys are great.


	5. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **iCarly is on a very long list of things I don't own.

**A/N: **Champagnescene's new chapter provided some much needed inspiration. Just don't tell her I said that. This only took like a year and some change but better late th- eh, here it is.

/

**Epilogue - The Morning After**

_Monday, September 17__th__._

In Seattle, the air was clean and fresh; laced with a floral scent usually birthed after a storm. The skies were blue, and bright, and stretched out across their usual never ending expanse. Every street was flooded, the tops of cars barely visible through the murky waters. Freddie stood out on his fire escape, leaning against the cool metal railing, eyes drifting over the outline of the city.

He hadn't been able to get out of his head all morning, just kept replaying everything that had happened over the last two days again and again but really, could you blame him? He had kissed Sam Puckett multiple times and** (**lived to tell about it**)** actually wanted to. Actually still wanted to. That was grounds to be committed in his books. Locked up in a nice padded cell where he couldn't hurt himself or others. He'd play checkers with the other crazies in the afternoon and take all his pills with apple juice. There'd be no time to think about kissing Sam in therapy with the amount of mom issues he'd have to work through. It'd work out perfectly.

Freddie was so caught up in his mental institute fantasy that he didn't notice a familiar blonde stepping out onto the fire escape until it was too late and she gripped his shoulders suddenly, and very harshly.

He jumped out of his skin, turning around to glare at the girl. "Sam! Jesus Christ!"

"I'll take '_people who should be worshipped without question' _for five hundred." Sam tossed back, coming to rest against the railing next to him, her gaze in the distance.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me?"

Sam continued to stare out. "Don't remember."

"Sam." He prompted.

"You told me not to, Benson." She intoned.

"Exactly."

The blonde finally turned her attention back to Freddie, brow arched. "And what did I tell you about thinking you could tell me what to do?"

"You said that kind of thinking would be detrimental to my health." He answered with a thick sigh.

"_And_?"

Freddie grimaced but answered anyway. "And that I could _suck it."_

"Oh the memories." She said fondly, a smirk shifting the corners of her mouth upwards while she turned back to the city. "Good times."

He took this moment to watch her intently. She was wearing that one tank top that was tight in all the right places **(**he had never noticed this before- or maybe he had and had repressed it down into the dark basement of his brain**)** and a pair of ripped jeans. Her curls were even more untamed than usual, probably from the humidity or whatever. She looked well rested which seemed accurate. He himself hadn't gotten much sleep last night, plagued by fantas- nightmares.

"School won't be open until the streets un-flood." He said randomly in attempts to get his thought process back on track and away from dangerous territory. Freddie looked at her expectantly for a few seconds but when she made no effort to respond to him, all he could do was shrug and follow her focus out into Seattle.

The lull lasted two or three minutes.

"We can give it a try." Her voice hit the air around them steady and assured.

"Huh?" Freddie responded eloquently, brows furrowed and attention back on the blonde.

"Get on the same page, dork, we can give it a try. You and me."

"You and I." He corrected her on instinct, without thinking, and paid for it when she delivered a strong jab to his bicep. Freddie rubbed vigorously at his arm. "Ow!"

She continued on.

"So yeah, the first rule is you can no longer walk beside me in public, you gotta be at least two feet behind me at all time." She paused for a moment, looking introspective. "If you can't maintain that distance, we'll get you a leash with the appropriate length measurement."

"Sam, come on."

"You ever call me your girlfriend and I'll break your face." She ignored him, never missing a beat. "Calling me your master however is acceptable."

"I'm not calling you master." He declared with conviction but she carried on as if he hadn't said a word.

"You'll have to do all my homework, but that's nothing new. And you'll also ha-"

It was at this point that he finally interrupted her and true to the formula the two had begun to use during the storm, it was with a kiss. His hands found the sides of her face, gently ghosting over her cheeks as he kissed her full on the lips. Slowly her hands came to rest on top of his, returning his affection with an understated force, deepening the kiss and then abruptly pulling away but only inches.

"Wow, it's kinda hot when you take charge, Benson." Sam said breathless, words rasp around the edges.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She confirmed, running the pad of her thumb along the back of one of his hands before quickly grabbing all of his fingers and pulling them backwards. "Ever cut me off like that again though and I'll make sure you'll regret it."

"Let go! Sam, you're gonna break my fingers!" Freddie cried out as Sam started towards the window, all the while not relinquishing her iron tight grip on his fingers.

"Come on, Spencer is making lunch and I wanna make sure he isn't trying to hold out on me again. I found three packages of deli meat hidden in the freezer last week. He actually thought he could get away with that. Can you believe that chiz?"

"You definitely just broke my fingers!"


End file.
